Case study: Milton Keynes CMS, web portal and mobile app

The challenge

Milton Keynes City Council (MK) have been very forward-thinking in their approach to public transport infrastructure. They developed the Get Around MK brand to promote sustainable travel and reduce car use; and for bus services MK offer a commercial scheme, a concessionary scheme, mobile applications, and are planning to move to account-based ticketing (ABT).

Before this project, Unicard had already been involved in the development of Get Around MK – building MK’s existing card management system (CMS) and self-service portal (SSP) for residents.

For this project, Unicard were asked to add two smartcards to the CMS: MK Move and MK All in 1 (which were both previously non-smart cards).

Project requirements

The MK Move card had to support a Pay-As-You-Go purse for single-operator bus use as well as 1-day, 1-week and 4-week pass options to pay for bus services from different operators. The MK All in 1 card had to follow a similar model to the MK Move card but also provide extra travel concessions for children and young people in education.

The objectives for adding the two new smartcards to the MK CMS were:

• Create an application process where customers could apply for MK smartcards using a new section on the MK SSP
• Allow MK staff to manually approve these requests for MK All in 1 cards, via the introduction of CMS gallery functionality
• Allow the creation of these smartcards via the CMS
• Facilitate the Euclid production of these smartcards, via CMS-to-Euclid export
• Add a new card and cardholder service to the CMS that allowed its users to set card colour, school, application date and application status

Project solution

Unicard’s solution for MK’s requirements was based on another solution that we had successfully delivered for Transport for West Midlands (TfWM).

Unicard have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with TfWM, working in partnership since 2008 on a wide range of schemes. Starting in 2012, we began to develop their commercial scheme offerings. The key deliverable was an SSP and CMS for their Swift scheme, the largest travel system in the UK outside of London. That scheme simplifies and streamlines the travel experience for passengers throughout the region by offering multi-modal ABT and travel across trams, buses and trains. Swift users can store an array of payment types on their account, and it is fully integrated with concessionary travel schemes.

Our TfWM platform now supports more than 700,000 users every day, along with National Express West Midlands (NX) customers, securely processing more than 120 million transactions a year.

This service is delivered in close collaboration with Euclid, which means we can deliver a complete and secure multi-modal smartcard Swift scheme management solution through our HOPS and CMS.

We provided the Swift ITSO platform (HOPS/AMS, Part 11 and collection apps on mobiles) to TfWM. NX and Green Bus also use it for their ticketing.

TfWM use our CMS to support the full range of concessions (age, disabled, students and apprentices, etc) and Swift commercial products (e-purse, adult and child season tickets, period pass, carnet, 16 to 18, etc) on bus, tram and train. They are all retailed through the Unicard-provided portal, the Get Around MK mobile app and travel shop software, as well as Payzone and NX shops.

The Swift system and API allow all products and top-ups to be added to cards in TfWM’s and NX’s own travel shops, Payzone, from on-street ticket collectors, and ticket vending machines, as well as ticket collection to cards on a Swift collection mobile app, or they can be fulfilled to ITSO on Mobile on Google Pay. Other Unicard customers also successfully fulfil requirements using actionlists sent to Electronic Tickets Machines.

Unicard’s success in delivering the TfWM solution was instrumental in how we completed our rollout of the Milton Keynes project. The MK solution was built off the Swift platform that we developed for TfWM, and MK licensed the Swift platform from TfWM.

In particular, the Gallery functionality developed for the Swift CMS and SSP at TfWM was introduced to the MK CMS as part of the MK All in 1 card solution. This functionality allows MK staff to manually approve applications for the MK All in 1 card, based on supporting documents uploaded by applicants via the MK SSP.

The streamlined document approval process developed for TfWM was based on user research carried out with its scheme administrative staff. We used this experience to roll out the new process at MK, while placing extra emphasis on security measures, given that the documents submitted involve personal data relating to children and young people.

Key outcomes

Our solution extended the benefits of smart travel to two entirely new groups of MK residents, helping to fulfil Milton Keynes’ ambition for a more equitable and inclusive transport system. It also generated significant cost savings through efficiencies delivered from the move away from a paper-based system. Based on this success, we continue to enjoy a strong relationship with Milton Keynes, and our track record in delivering this project was an important factor in the decision to award Unicard the contract to develop a new mobile app, fully integrated with the current CMS and web portal.

The launch of the new Get Around MK transport app developed by Unicard is part of the city council’s £500,000 investment in sustainable transport, taking advantage of the public’s move towards more cycling, walking and scooter use during the Covid pandemic. The city council wants to make it as simple as possible for its residents to take advantage of green transport options.

Unicard fully integrated the new Get Around MK mobile app with the existing MK system, building on the success of the existing platform that we developed for TfWM.

The app is now live and includes the following features:

• Real-time travel information for bus, train, tram and shared/micromobility
• Journey planning through integration with Google Maps
• Users can find, purchase and activate tickets
• Account management, fully integrated with the CMS
• Personalised content and alerts

Customer background

Milton Keynes City Council is the local authority of the Borough of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England, which has a population of around 270,000 people.

Milton Keynes itself has high levels of commuting, as it is home to more than 12,000 businesses and accommodates over 180,000 employees.

The city council developed the Get Around MK brand to promote sustainable travel. Its transport team work with schools, employers, residents and community groups to encourage local people to use more sustainable forms of transport and reduce car use. It promotes alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles that include walking, cycling, buses, trains, car sharing and electric vehicles.